Inventing the Indigenous

In the wake of expanding commercial voyages, many people in early modern Europe became curious about the plants and minerals around them and began to compile catalogues of them. Drawing on cultural, social and environmental history, as well as the histories of science and medicine, this book argues that, amidst a growing reaction against exotic imports - whether medieval spices...

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In the wake of expanding commercial voyages, many people in early modern Europe became curious about the plants and minerals around them and began to compile catalogues of them. Drawing on cultural, social and environmental history, as well as the histories of science and medicine, this book argues that, amidst a growing reaction against exotic imports - whether medieval spices like cinnamon or new American arrivals like chocolate and tobacco - learned physicians began to urge their readers to discover their own 'indigenous' natural worlds. In response, compilers of local inventories created numerous ways of itemising nature, from local floras and regional mineralogies to efforts to write the natural histories of entire territories. Tracing the fate of such efforts, the book provides insight into the historical trajectory of such key concepts as indigeneity and local knowledge.

knowledgments page ix
List of Illustrations xiii
Introduction 1
1 Home and the World: Debating Indigenous Nature 21
“There are in Germany so many more and better medicines… ” 22
“Garlic and Onions” 32
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knowledgments page ix
List of Illustrations xiii
Introduction 1
1 Home and the World: Debating Indigenous Nature 21
“There are in Germany so many more and better medicines… ” 22
“Garlic and Onions” 32
“Indigenous Medicine” 41
2 Field and Garden: The Making of the Local Flora 51
Field Trips 57
Texts 72
Places 80
3 From Rocks to Riches: The Quest for Natural Wealth 87
Mineral Kingdoms 89
Natural Treasures 94
Excavating Würzburg 101
Dealing in the Local 109
4 The Nature of the Territory 116
“Procure us an Account” 121
Translating the New Science 131
“The Possibilities of The Land” 140
5 Problems of Local Knowledge 152
“The Indies in Switzerland” 156
Florists and Critics 166
Conclusion 173
Works Cited 187
Manuscript Sources 187
Printed Primary Sources 187
Secondary Sources 195
Index
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